


Allies

by Captain_Revo



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Enterprise
Genre: Andorians, Gen, Space Battles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-05
Updated: 2019-08-05
Packaged: 2020-07-31 18:09:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20119381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Captain_Revo/pseuds/Captain_Revo
Summary: Following Shran, during the Romulan war, as he performs a recon mission into enemy space, to aid humanity.





	Allies

The Andorian battle cruiser,_ Shukar_, waited silently behind the fourth moon of Nelvana II, just inside Romulan territory. The molten moon, covered in fiery volcanoes and seemingly bottomless craters, dominated the viewscreen, making it look like the portal to a mythical underworld of the damned. Commander Thy'lek Shran, chose not to look at it as the thought of the extreme temperatures down there made him sweat. He mumbled and cursed to himself as he paced about the bridge impatiently. Waiting was not his best trait.

The Earth/Romulan war has been raging for nearly two years. It was a dark time for the people of Earth, and this region of the galaxy held its breath, waiting to see what transpired next. The Humans were losing the conflict, and the other species were paralysed with fear of facing down this mysterious threat that could strike from nowhere. Like a bogeyman from the children's tales of Earth, the Romulan Empire elicited a sense of paranoia and dread amongst its enemies. The way people spoke about them it was if they hid behind every nebula, lurked behind every asteroid. A Romulan spy could be anywhere and everywhere. Earth was gripped with xenophobia about an enemy they did not understand, and alien allies that would not come to their aid. If they fell, it would surely spell trouble for the other members of the Coalition of Planets, when the Romulans inevitably turned their attention to other worlds, yet it seemed no one had the wit of wisdom to see that.

Shran shook his head, cursing further that the cowards at the negotiation table had not pressed for a military alliance to begin with. '_What good is being partners if you don't come to each others aid?'_ The Vulcans cited their caution and pacifism as their excuse not to enter a conflict that would endanger their people, and risk escalating the situation into a quadrant wide war, although Shran suspected they had another reason. '_Pacifism, ha, could have fooled me?'_ His antennas twitched in anger. '_Those pigs were too pathetic to risk their tusks for anyone but themselves either_.' he thought mumbling under his breath. The Denobulans and Rigelians had woefully under funded their ships offensive capabilities and would have trouble attacking a cargo ship let alone one Romulan vessel. Even his own people said they had suffered too much war and conflict to risk a full military engagement at this time. '_What on Andor did they think was going to happen when the Romulans were through with the pink skins?' That they would just pack up and head back to wherever their homeworld was?'_ He had to beg Imperial Command even to let him come out as recon for the Humans. The Romulans had spent considerably effort trying to undermine the major powers with holographic drones, infiltration of the Vulcan High Command itself, propaganda campaigns, and attacks on shipping lanes. They had a goal and it did not start and end with the conquest of Earth.

"Commander," came the deep voice of lieutenant Thy'rani from the helm station in front of the viewscreen, a grizzled veteran from his time aboard the _Kumari_, his hair was short and thinning, his skin dark. "we are detecting two Romulan Birds-of-Prey entering this system."

Shran switched to laser focus concentration. His impatience melted away, "On screen." The moon disappeared and two green birds winked onto the viewer. He snorted. "At least the bastards don't expect us to be here, otherwise they would be cloaked."

_'Those damned cloaking shields',_ he thought to himself. They made their ships as mysterious as the people operating them. There was an aura about the Romulans that this war had done little to dispel. No one knew what they looked like, how large their space was, and their cursed ships could make themselves invisible. They didn't even know where their homeworld was, or for that matter what it was even called. He had heard it referred to as Romulus, Remus, and Romii. One world or three separate ones? The people that lived under the empire saw them as next to gods. Ancient and powerful, all seeing, all knowing. Shran didn't believe in gods.

"They are approaching our position." said the tactical officer, Sovva, a slight hint of concern in her voice. She was a new recruit, fresh out of military school, and eager to serve. Shran turned to look at her. Her skin, lighter than most Andorians with an almost green tinge, contrasted against the imposing volcano moon behind her. "Shall we arm weapons?" she asked waiting for orders.

"Not yet," he replied calmly, his antenna pointing backwards like two catapults loaded and ready to fire at the winged terrors on his screen. "They may just be moving to the spaceport on the far side of the planet. We don't want to tip our hand." he said as he bit at his inner lip. These were the moments he lived for; the tension, the excitement, the danger. An image of his baby daughter flashed into head catching him by surprise, but he forced the memory from his mind for this was not the time. He put his mind back to the task at hand.

Romulan ships were extremely advanced. They packed powerful disruptor weapons and plasma based torpedoes, coupled with their invisibility screens gave them a devastating first strike capability. But, for whatever reason, their defences were surprisingly weak. The amount of energy their weapons and cloak required probably left little for their traditional shields. Their hull was also less durable than a Vulcan or Andorian ship. Perhaps the material used played some part in making sure the cloak operated effectively, or perhaps they had not developed in that area relying on their surprise attacks. If you hit them just right, especially as they switch from their defensive shields to cloaking shields, you can slice through their hull like a hot ushaan-tor through orion butter.

Shran looked around his bridge. It was very similar to that of the _Kumari, _cramped, cold with dull blue and grey colouring.Twostations in front of him for the helm and tactical. A science station to his right, his first officer to his left. Two engineering consoles behind him on the back wall. He missed that old bucket, even if his new battlecruiser was more advanced. The thought of it being destroyed at the hands of the Romulans filled him with anger. Revenge bubbled in the pit of his stomach. His new ship had the same basic shape, long, sleek and angular, with a long nose section, but this class had four prominent wings instead of just two. The two horizontal struts held the warp engines, but on the tip of each was a powerful tetryon cannon that combined could deliver a quadruple attack. The amount of energy it drew meant they could not fire as frequently, but the impacts were deadly.

The crew sat in silence watching the two raptor like ships swoop towards them. Only the feint humming of the warp core and occasional 'beep' of a console broke the tension. Shran felt a twinge of pain in his left antenna that never fully healed from all those years ago when Jonathan Archer had sliced it clean off in a personal duel. The doctors said it was fine, but he could still feel it when tense. He gave it a gentle rub.

"Sir, you're right, they have adjusted their heading towards the spaceport." Sovva said, a wave of relief in her voice.

Shran's eyes lit up, he saw the opportunity to strike while they were distracted. "Tactical analysis." he said hurriedly.

Lieutenant Thy'rani expertly operated the controls. A detailed display appeared on the screen overlaying both ships. "The vessels are currently at half impulse. Weapons are powered down, shields are powered down. They are not running any scans that I can detect." he replied.

"Perfect," he said clenching his fist. "Helm, wait till they are within optimum firing solution then bring us above the moon. We will attack from an elevated position. Hit the nearest ship first, full cannon barrage, we'll clip their wings and leave them dead in space, then move in on the second, aim directly for their central hull. Once both ships are-"

"Sir," came a stern voice from behind him. It was his first officer, Vri'lak. He had only been aboard for a few months but it was obvious that he rearly approved of his often impulsive decisions. Shran could hear the disproving tone from the one word alone. The rest of the sentence would be little different. "May I remind you that our orders from Command are to observe the Romulan's movements only. Not to engage unless fired upon first."

"Shran sighed. "Thank you for the reminder, Lieutenant Commander, now carry out my orders." he barked.

There was a moments silence before he replied. "I will not, sir." he said defiantly. Shran snapped round, his eyes locked onto Vri'lak. "This could be seen as an act of war. A war we are not prepared for." the first officer argued.

"We have two enemy ships at our mercy. We can destroy their spaceport and do a crippling blow to the operations across three sectors." Sharn knew that the Humans would soon be overrun if the other did not aid them. Destroying this base and two ships would give them breathing room. He had seen the report of the conflict. Their warp 5 ships, _Enterprise, Columbia, Endeavour, _and_ Challenger_ were trying to hold the line while their production crews built more NX classes. Their secondary warp 4 cruisers, like the _Franklin, London_ and _Churchill _were less advanced and struggled to handle the more manoeuvrable Birds-of-Prey. Their corvettes ships such as the _Intrepid_ and _Sarajevo_ were little more than cannon fodder on their own. They needed every enemy vessel they could out of action across the theatre of war.

"With all due respect, sir. They are not our enemies. They are the human's enemies." he argued.

Sharn took several steps closer towards him. "Of course they are our enemy. They have been disrupting politics across the region for the last decade, at least. They are trying to exterminate our allies. They destroyed my ship. What would you call a race of people who do that anything but an enemy?" his skin was almost turning purple with rage.

"Sir, I believe you are placing the human's tactical situation above our own. If we are caught-"

Shran, growing tiresome of this did not let him finish, his antennas angled like daggers ready to rip from his head and attack his subordinate. "We won't be caught because we have them defenceless. They won't stand a chance."

"And if there are more ships? Cloaked ships, waiting for us?" he replied, his voice now raised.

He threw his arms wide open in mock jest. "Oh, these fabled cloaking shields that has everyone scared like frightened Tellarites. The Romulans are not invincible, they can be killed and I intend to kill them. Risk is at the very heart of a leader's role. You want to sit in this chair one day then you have to be prepared to face death." he walked around the bridge going from station to station. "They mean us harm. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow but one day they will come for us like they have come for the Humans, and who will be there for us? I did not run from the Vulcans, I did not run from the Klingons, I did not run from the Xindi, and I sure as hell will not run from people that paint birds on their ships, and who hide in the shadows like cowards. Now will you follow my orders" he paused, "or not, Lieutenant Commander?" he said turning back to Vri'lak and pointing aggressively at him.

The silence on the bridge was deafening. It seemed even the warp core had gone quiet. The crew all looked at the two men, waiting to see who would blink first.

"I won't do that." he said quietly.

"Then you are relieved of duty." Shran said. Vri'lak stood his ground, looking directly into his superior's eyes. "YOU ARE RELIEVED." this time shouting the words. The first officer looked around to see no one coming to his aid. He nodded briefly and turned around to leave the bridge. Shran watched him walk away. Another long silence was broken by a whistling sound.

"Sir, the ships are within targeting range." came the woman's voice from the helm.

"Bring us into position, once the first two ships are crippled, spin us around and target the port. Execute." he said returning to his chair. He absentmindedly grabbed at a small pendant around his neck, tucked under his uniform, that his wife, Jhamel, had given him. Inside was a picture of her and his new baby daughter, Talla. He had missed her birth while out patrolling the border of Tholian space. He promised himself he would not miss another of her birthdays. But serving in the Imperial Guard made that promise impossible. Until now. He had seen it clearly. His people had lost their way. The enemy was at the gate while they slept. One more soldier on the front lines would make little difference, but his people considered him a hero and that gave him status. He could use that fame and respect to campaign to have Andoria enter the war. Perhaps even the others would join in. Together an alliance could overcome the Romulan menace and bring peace to this region.

The _Shukar_ moved above the moon's northern pole and armed its forward cannons. It engaged its engines and began moving forward towards its prey. The first Romulan ship was taken completely by surprise. The blue thunderbolts rained down on both of the wing struts ripping its engines from its primary hull. Several bodies were blown into space never even having time to realise what had happened to them. The ship began to spiral out of control. The second Bird-of-Prey barely had time to react before a spread of torpedoes slammed into its dorsal hull. A string of explosions rippled along its superstructure like fiery red roses springing up in a green field. Another volley of cannon fire split the ship in two. The aft section exploded as its singularity core, the Romulan form of warp drive, collapsed, sucking the forward section into an uncontained compressed blackhole that blinked out of existence just as quickly as it came. The _Shukar_ raced past the scene of the second ships demise, spun on its axis 180 degrees. It targeted what was left of the spinning ship and fired again. It exploded releasing a small shock wave that their shields easily absorbed. 

"Both ships have been destroyed." came an unnecessary update from tactical.

He nodded, giving a brief moment to pay respects to the fallen soldiers. The enemy they may be, but they fight for their people all the same, and must be respected for doing so. "Target the base, and then set a course for home, maximum warp." he said quietly. He saw the spaceport appear on the viewscreen. It was in low orbit of the planet. A flat, circular structure with six raised beams that extended inwards, hovering over a sea of shimmering green. A series of red sparkling lights appeared on the screen and moved towards the port. A blinding explosion filled the screen causing Shran to wince. A moment later it was gone. The ship turned-about-face. The viewscreen went black except for the twinkle of distant stars. Those stars began to stretch and burst into life as the warp drive was engaged and the ship entered a tunnel of light and colours.

Shran slumped back into his chair and sunk his head into his left hand. He massaged his temples with his thumb and middle finger. "How long until we reach Andorian space?" he asked.

"I calculate we should be-" A suddenly jot interrupted Thy'rani and shook the entire bridge. The stream of stars in front of them on the viewscreen dropped away as their warpfield collapsed. A second jolt sent the crew sprawling across the bridge. Sparks and fires broke out around them as smoke filled the room.

"REPORT!" he shouted over the explosions.

The crew regained their stations. "One Romulan Warbird has decloaked, a larger and more powerful ship that the previous two. They are targeting our engines." replied Sovva, brushing her long hair out of her face.

"Bring us about, now." he ordered. Andorian battle cruisers had incredible agility allowing it to quickly rotate around to face their attacker. But the ship was gone. They were surrounded by empty space.

"Where is she?" asked Sovva, beeps, chirps and sirens still whirring in the background.

A female voice, curt and aggressive, sounded over the com unit in an unknown language to Shran. The updated language database provide to them by Hoshi Sato recognised it as Romulan and began translating. "This is the _R.R.W. Vrenal_, I am Sub-Commander Tre'tal of the Romulan Star Empire. You have violated our space and perpetrated acts of war against us. By the power invested in me by the Imperial Senate, I am placing you under arrest. Lower your shield, and prepare to be bordered, or you will be destroyed."

Shran stewed over his words before eventually replying. "This is Commander Shran of the _I.G.S Shukar._ I reject your demand. I will not lower my shields, any further more ANY attack will be considered an act of war against the Andorian Empire, and if ONE single Romulan steps foot on this vessel, I will personally gut them, and nail them to the nearest bulkhead." There was a long pause.

Shran silenced the comms from his chair panel. "They will try to stay on our flank. Use evasive manoeuvres. They will be momentarily vulnerable if they decloak. Keep your eyes open and your antenna sharp." he said quickly. A bridge wide cry of "Yes, sir" rang around him.

Several minutes passed with no word. Shran could see the crew was getting edgy. Had the Warbird left? Had it called for reinforcements? Was there an entire fleet bearing down upon then? This was intolerable. How can you fight an invisible enemy. '_Where are they?' _He got his answer. A shimmer appeared off the port side as a plasma torpedo raced towards their hull. Helm managed to turn the ship to avoid the shot. Instinctively Thy'rani engaged the impulse engines and manoeuvring thrusters in a sweeping arc and expertly turned the bow of the ship as Sovva let off a blast of quad cannon fire. It slammed into their shield which they had managed to raise in time.

"Damn it." she said. A blast of disruptor fire was returned. "Shields down to forty percent. Their weapons are powerful, sir." she added.

Shran shouted behind him to the engineering station. "Divert power to weapons. We won't win a defensive battle, we need to punch through their shields." Another hit rocked the crew. He heard the words twenty percent shouted at him. Another good volley and their shields would collapse. _The Shukar_ returned fire again with a volley of torpedoes and cannon fire. A direct hit crashed into the enemy ship. It began to cloak. Another volley was released but went sailing into the distance. Both ships had sustained critical damage to their shields.

"Can we get out of here?" he asked.

"Warp engines are dead. We have full impulse at best." replied a large stocky Andorian at the engineering station. Shran swore under his breath.

"Sir, there is an asteroid belt in this system, high concentrations of kemocite. It may be enough to fool their sensors. Perhaps we can lose them in there?" said his science officer, Tye'gos, standing at a wall console to his right. She was a tall, slender woman, with dreadlock off white hair, and a scar across her eye from an unfortunate confrontation with a gorn a year ago. Unfortunate for the gorn that was. In the Imperial Guard even the scientists are trained to kill.

Shran hoped their impulse speeds were faster than the _Vrenal_, or they would not even make it to the asteroid filed. "Do it." he ordered.

The ship raced towards field. The crew were nervous, and Shran didn't blame them. He had a new respect for their opponents cloaking shields. His first officer was right in that it gave them an advantage that made every engagement a potential disaster. He firmly believed in getting involved in the war, but one man making a reckless decisions based on revenge that would likely get his crew killed did not make a commander people would be willing to follow into war. Besides, if he made it out alive, his daughter deserved a father who would be there for her. They were still in one piece and no more shots were coming their way. It's possible their last hit took out their weapons. Or perhaps they are lagging behind, waiting to catch up. There was no guarantee their sensors couldn't distinguish them even through the kemocite. As they approached the asteroids, they dropped down to one quarter impulse and prepared to sail into the dense grouping of rocks.

They were no more than a few thousand meters inside when a shimmer to their aft happened again. The Warbird locked onto them and fired full disruptors. Their shields collapsed in the opening salvo. They returned fire with their aft array but did little damage. Their predator drew to point blank range and locked on a tractor beam. Every member of the crew drew their side arms in preparation of a boarding party.

"Sir." came the voice of Vri'lak, causing his commander to turn around abruptly. He was armed with a rifle." I stand with the crew." he said defiantly. Shran nodded. This was not the time to turn down help.

Five green lights appeared like ghosts. The crew readied themselves, as golden masked soldiers appeared on the bridge, their true identity still a mystery. Green energy erupted all around them from all angles. People dived behind chairs and consoles to avoid being hit. Shran fired at one of the attackers, catching one in the arm, but his enemy quickly closed on him and he found himself in hand to hand combat. He struck him across the chest but to little effect. His opponent grabbed him by the throat and began to squeeze. He was exceptionally strong and Shran could feel his life ebbing away. Shouts and screams filled the bridge around him. He managed to force his leg between him and the attacker and pushed him away. Then as quickly as it had started, they vanished in another beam of light.

"What...what happened? Why did they withdraw?" he shouted to no one in particular. He looked around to see if anyone was hurt. Everyone was still moving thankfully with apparently only cuts and grazes. On the viewscreen between the reddish brown lumps of rock, a larger asteroid appeared to move towards them. The cylindrical shape crept closer and closer until the silhouette could be seen. The Vulcan cruiser, a D'Kyr type flew past the damaged ship and took aim at the warbird. It fired two particle beams at the cornered vessel, punching through its weakened shields and causing its tractor lock to fail. The_ Shukar_ joined the efforts firing its aft array and torpedoes. They slammed into the hull of the ship. A second eruption of green energy from the Vulcan cruiser sliced into the hull, destroying the bridge. The ship lost power and was soon dead in space. They had won. Shran didn't know whether to laugh or cry. '_Saved by Vulcans of all people.'_

"We are being hailed." said Tye'gos.

The viewscreen, still emitting random sparks, switched to show the interior of the Vulcan ship's bridge. Ambassador Soval was sitting in the centre of the room. "Do you require assistance?" he asked calmly.

Shran let out a grim laugh. "Still spying on us even now are we, Soval? How did you know we were here?" he asked suspiciously.

Soval seemed annoyed, or at least as annoyed as a Vulcan could become. "Believe it or not, we have better things to do than keep track of wayward Andorian ships. We were conducting scientific scans in a neighbouring system, when we detected Andorian and Romulan weapon fire. We approached through the asteroid field to get a better vantage point to survey the situation. I suppose I should not be surprised to find you here." he said in his usual attitude that was supposed to be emotionless yet somehow always sounded condescending and smug.

"What can I say, I always like to be where the action is." he retorted.

"Indeed." he replied drily. "I suggest we leave the system as quickly as possible." For once Shran was in complete agreement. The Vulcan cruiser escorted the_ Shukar_ out of the system. When they were a safe distance out of Romulan territory Shran hailed the cruiser.

"I probably should invite you aboard my ship to properly thank you, I hate to admit it but you did save my life." the words stung leaving his mouth.

Soval raised a single eyebrow. "Considering the last time I was on one of your ships you tortured me, quite cruelly I might add, so you will forgive me if I am not eager to come aboard." he retorted stoically.

Shran felt a tinge of guilt. "That was a long time ago. Things have changed. Like this war. Don't tell me you, the ambassador to Earth, were just conducting scientific research on the Romulan border. Or that you crossed the border out of concern for an Andorian crew." he said. "The Vulcans are helping the Humans. You're preparing to enter the war, aren't you?" a tinge of excitement filled him.

As a Vulcan Soval was not accustomed to lying, but stretching the truth was something he had become adept at. His scans were scientific were only to cover the real long range scans of enemy ship and troop movements. He opened his mouth, then closed it again. Eventually he said "Good day, Commander. Perhaps we will meet again, soon." The viewscreen changed to a star field background.

Shran smiled to himself. "You all performed above and beyond what I could have asked for. Far more than I deserved. Helm, get us out of here." he ordered. "I'll be in my briefing room." he added, slinking off to an adjacent room. Before we reached it he turned back to Vri'lak. "You have the bridge, Lieutenant Commander." his said with a nod of his head. His first officer saluted, before Shran finally left the bridge.

As he sat down and poured himself a bottle of ale, he reflected on what had happened. He had disobeyed orders, relieved his first officer in anger, and effectively declared war on a more powerful enemy. '_Not exactly by the book'_ he thought to himself. Shran knew he acted impulsively from time to time, most Andorians did if we was being honest, and there was no doubt that he had taken a massive risk. It was not his place to plunge his people into war, but he also knew that entering the war was their only hope in the long term. He had resolved himself to leave the Imperial Guard, for his actions today, his daughter's future, and his peoples, assuming they didn't throw him out, or lock him up for his actions. At the very least destroying several enemy vessels should buy the Humans a little time. He would only return to the Imperial Guard once they learned to work together. His friend Jonathan Archer had taught him the benefit of being allies, ironically his long time enemy, Soval, had just reinforced it, that going it alone was the surest way to eventual defeat. It was not the Andorian way, but it was effective. It was time to teach his people the benefit of having allies, and coming to their aid.


End file.
